The Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) has reported its latest round of trading volumes for August 2016, which offered a mixed overview in terms of its performance – overall this was highlighted by a generally upbeat year-to-date (YTD) trend, according to a TAIFEX newsletter.

TAIFEX offers a wide range of instruments, including foreign exchange (FX), futures, exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) and other options contracts. In terms of total trading volume in August 2016, the exchange notched a total of 21.0 million contracts, vs. 29.5 million traded back in August 2015. This corresponded to a YoY retreat of approximately -28.8%.

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Looking closer at its August 2016 figures, the largest components of TAIFEX’s volumes were Index Futures and Index Options – specifically Taiwan futures and options that came in at 14.6% and 68.5% respectively as a measure of total volumes. Across the board, no instrument bested its 2015 counterpart, as August’s low volatility sapped the exchange of any meaningful volume growth.

TAIFEX also saw a downtrodden performance across its exchange-traded-funds (ETF) and FX business. Looking at its ETF business, TAIFEX disclosed a figure of only 152,150 in August 2016 across its ETF futures, down -42.2% YoY from 263,283 in August 2015.

Regarding its FX trading, the exchange reported a figure of just 8,912 USD/CNH futures in August 2016, down -59.8% YoY from 22,180 in August 2015. Additionally, TAIFEX saw 42,607 USD/CNT FX futures in August 2016, down a sizable -83.1% YoY from 252,744 in August 2015.